Currently, genomic nucleotide sequences of various organisms including humans are being rapidly determined and information on genomic nucleotide sequences is being accumulated in various databases. For example, currently in progress is the construction of a system which will enable various research institutes and researchers to utilize information on genomic nucleotide sequences accumulated in databases through an information network such as the Internet.
At the same time, research for the purpose of genomic drug discovery and analysis of genetic information and the like have been actively conducted using nucleotide sequences contained in such information on genomic nucleotide sequences, and differences in nucleotide sequences among individual organisms represented by the single nucleotide polymorphism are attracting attention. In general, differences in nucleotide sequences among individual organisms refer to a polymorphism defined by existence of a predetermined nucleotide difference at a frequency of 1% or more in an individual species and a variation defined by a predetermined nucleotide difference of less than 1% in an individual species. In particular, known polymorphisms are SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism), in which there is one nucleotide difference among individual organisms; an insertion/deletion polymorphism, in which one to several tens of nucleotides (sometimes several thousands of nucleotides) have been deleted or inserted; VNTR (variable number of tandem repeat), in which the number of repetitions of a sequence comprising two to several tens of nucleotides as one unit varies; and a microsatellite polymorphism (a repetition sequence having about two to four nucleotides).
Such polymorphisms sometimes affect, for example, differences in amino acid sequences of proteins among individual organisms or differences in expression efficiency concerning predetermined genes among individual organisms. Such influences cause, for example, differences in the morbidity rate of predetermined diseases among individual organisms or differences in sensitiveness to predetermined medicaments among individual organisms.
A system, however, which provides semantic information useful for each organism among a plurality of individual organisms through effective utilization of differences in nucleotide sequence-related information, such as a polymorphism, is not yet constructed.
Under the above circumstances, the present invention is directed to construction of a system for processing information for providing semantic information and/or information associated with the semantic information useful for each individual organism through effective utilization of differences in nucleotide sequence-related information among individual organisms.